1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to articulated vehicles, and in particular relates to devices and systems for aligning a leading vehicle with a trailing vehicle during a hitching operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of prior art hitch guides have been devised. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,149, Bennett discloses an arrangement utilizing two vertical rods, one mounted on the hitch of the leading vehicle and the other mounted on the tongue of the trailing vehicle such that when the hitch and tongue are brought together the rods interconnect to illuminate a light at the extremity of one of the rods. A somewhat similar arrangement for illuminating a light is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,536 to Black, in which the patentee also discloses a rod-like arrangement which is mounted on the trunk deck of the leading vehicle, this trunk-mounted rod adapted to engage apparatus extending in a vertical direction from the trailer tongue.
Another arrangement is disclosed by Voelkerding et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,703. The arrangement disclosed by Voelkerding et al also employs two vertically extending rods, one mounted on the hitch of the leading vehicle and the other mounted on the tongue of the trailing vehicle. Each vertical rod includes a ball mounted on the upper extremity thereof and above the level of the trunk deck of the leading vehicle, so that the driver can observe the coming together of the two balls for alignment purposes. A somewhat similar arrangement is disclosed by Lehtisaari in U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,746, this arrangement also including two vertically mounted rods one of which is coupled to the leading vehicle hitch and the other to the tongue of the trailing vehicle. Each of the vertically extending rods is provided with means for allowing that rod to be telescoped up and down in a vertical plane.
All of the arrangements disclosed above require the mounting of hardware on either the truck deck or the hitch of the leading vehicle. However, the constant installation and removal of such arrangements after each trailer hook-up is unduly burdensome and time consuming.
Other prior art arrangements similar to that described above are shown in United States Patent and Trademark Office Class 280, Subclass 477, among others.